Suspect Arrested in Homophobic Attack on NYC Subway

New York City police have arrested the man they believe shoved a woman to the floor of a subway car, causing her to break her spine, after he called her "dyke."

Allasheed Allah, 54, of Manhattan's East Harlem neighborhood, was charged Thursday with assault and aggravated harassment, both as hate crimes, NBC News reports.

The attack took place November 30 on a train bound from Queens to Manhattan. The victim, a 20-year-old woman, had received a kiss on the cheek from another woman. An argument ensued between her and a male passenger. "He said, 'Do those gay things in front of me one more time and watch what happens,'" the victim told New York news site Gothamist.

An argument ensued, during which the man called the woman "dyke," punched her, and pushed her to the floor of the train car. "I felt him right behind me, I felt a punch in my back," the woman told Gothamist. "And it all happened so quick it was just a blur." The man got off the train at the next stop. The woman was treated for a fractured spine at Elmhurst Hospital Center.

The assault was recorded on cell phone video. Police put out images of the suspected attacker and sought the public's help in tracking him down - and they said today that they did receive a tip that aided in the search.

Court documents listed no lawyer who could speak for Allah, according to NBC News.